Pages

Friday, June 13, 2014

My Red Cross Story: A Taste of Home While Serving Overseas

My name is Bryan Vibert and I am a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force.

Our Air Force team is currently deployed to Jordan to a somewhat austere
location. We don't have a lot of "goodies," (cookies, snacks, etc.) so we
signed up through Anyairman.com, a conduit to the American public that
generously supports all branches of the military who are deployed.

Shortly
after signing up we started receiving care packages from Girl Scout Troop
4258 in Colorado with cookies and homemade cards. The troop was able to ship
these touches of home to us thanks to help from the Red Cross Service to
Armed Forces program in Colorado.

Being in the military is great, it's the being away from home and family
that is the hard part. Reading the home-made cards the Girl Scouts made was
absolutely AWESOME. They were so genuine and so cool, with messages like
"You are a Star," "Thanks for keeping us safe," "You are a Hero," "We want
you to know we are thinking of you," and "A troop is a busy person, take a
vacation."

Many people don't realize that the American Red Cross helps members of the
military and their families. The Red Cross Service to Armed Forces Program
delivers emergency communications between local families and their deployed
loved ones. The Red Cross is a valuable asset to military members, both home
and deployed. I have been on multiple deployments where a young Airmen
received devastating news (death of a loved one, etc) and the Red Cross was
right there willing to help.

A special thanks to the team at the Red Cross for supporting us. Your
kindness is just what some of our folks need when they have one of those
lonely days!